FARMINGTON HILLS, Mich. (WXYZ) — It's a Farmington Hills icon. Games and knickknacks wall to wall — Marvin's Marvelous Mechanical Museum is one of a kind.
However, after a unanimous vote Monday night, the Farmington Hills City Council approved a redevelopment for the land that includes the famous attraction.
“This development is really going to be a super thing for our city,” Mayor Theresa Rich said. "This is the gateway of the city at 14 Mile and Orchard Lake... it's just going to be so much prettier."
Rich says the development, which includes restaurants and a new Meijer, will be a major upgrade for the city. She’s hopeful Marvin's will be given a new space, but that's something they can't force to happen.
“As a city, we can't get in the way of a landlord-tenant matter," Rich said. "We can just say, pretty please talk nicely to each other.”
That being said, the mayor did speak to the owner of Marvin's recently and says they’re hopeful to find a space within the new development, potentially double the size of their current space.
“I'm hoping that the developer will work with him to find something within this complex that will be 10,000 square feet, and I think they can figure that out,” Rich said. "He (Marvin's owner) really wants to stay in Farmington Hills and truth of the matter is we really want him to stay too."
As for Marvin's supporters who attended the meeting, they also hope Marvin's gets to stay.
“That would be the best possible outcome, a bigger and better Marvin's where the history that is kind of lost would be brought back to life," supporter Conner Japikse said. "That's the biggest hope.”
"I really hope they get to stay," supporter Rachel Kronkhite said. "If they can't stay, I'm really worried. It's a lot of old stuff that can’t be moved.”
"I fully expect that Marvin's is going to continue to be a fixture in Farmington Hills,” Rich said. "I look forward to seeing anytime you pull into Farmington Hills, you see 'Home to Marvin's Marvelous Mechanical Musuem.'"
7 Action News reached out to the Marvin's before the meeting Monday and did not hear back. We also tried speaking with the developer at the meeting about the future of Marvin’s, but they refused to comment.
